The presidential election of 1860 was one of the nation's most memorable. The north and south of the country had a completely different vision of how they imagined their homeland. What made the situation worse was the fact that their views were completely opposite to each other. The North, mostly Republican supporters, wants America to be free; free from slaves and free from slavery. On the other hand, southern supporters, especially democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily lives and earned from. The separation of the South and North was not the only separation the United States was moving forward with. through, the Democratic Party had split. Northern and Southern Democrats turn on each other. After several delegates dropped out of the Democratic convention, Douglas, who should not have run for president because he would not support the idea of ​​making all states have slaves, was nominated for president. After Douglas was nominated without the consensus of the entire Democratic Party, Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge, who believed that all states should have slavery, thus creating a split in the Democratic Party. (Foner,496)In political cartoon 5A, the first reaction one has is to laugh without knowing the deeper meaning, and I imagine that is the reaction of most people if they don't read the captions. In my opinion this cartoon represents two events in the history of our country, the "Democratic Divide" and the "Lincoln Nomination". The main characters in this political cartoon are Abraham Lincoln, Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge. The main symbols of this cartoon are the two rodents with split tails. Another main symbol is the way Abraham Lincoln carries the two rodents on a stick, as if they were very poisonous and needed to be eliminated. The split-tailed rodents represent the Democratic Party and how they are separating and not working together. It represents how corrupt the Democratic Party is. The way "Old Abe" transports these two rodents is the way anyone in New York today reacts to mice in the subway station: "They've got to get rid of them"; and that's what I think the artist of the cartoon was trying to portray, that Abraham Lincoln needed to get rid of the plague that is corrupting our nation. Political cartoon 5A supports Abraham Lincoln, portrays Abraham Lincoln as the hero, and Douglas and John C.